Meat clamp for slicing machines



july 4, 1933. c. F. M. VAN BERKEL 1,9 6,899

MEAT CLAMP FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed June 6, 1929 Patented July 4, 1933 UNHTED STATES PATENT FFHQE COBNELIS IT. M. VAN IBERKEL, OF VJASSENAAR, NETHERLANDS, ASSIG-NOR TO U. S. SLICING- Id'ACI-IINE COMPANY, OF'LA ZORIE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA MEAT CLAMP F63 SLICING MACHINES Application filed June 6, 1929, Serial 11'0. 368,991, and in Great Britain June 12, 1928.

The present invention relates to slicing machines and particularly to a clamping device for clamping the substance to be sliced upon a substance support such as a feed table 5 (sometimes referred to as a feed plate). In one form of clamping device of this nature, the clamp is entirely supported upon a single upright and prevented from turning aboutsaid upright by means of an arm on the clamping device engaging a second upright on the support. The present invention relates to a clamping device of thls nature.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a clamping device in which a clamping member is pivoted to a member slidable on an upright and in which a pair of clutches is used to co-operate with the upright and the pivoted clamping member so as to control the positions thereof relative to the upright and the support upon which it is mounted.-

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamping device which is automatically held by means of one clutch in adjusted position upon an upright while a pivoted clamping member forming a part of the clamping device is held in adjusted angular position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a clamping device which has a bearing member slidable on an upright and a clamping member pivoted to said bearing member with means for holding each of these members in adjusted position so that the bearing member may be first positioned on the upright with the clamping member in engagement with the substance to be clamped and so that thereafter the clamping member may be pivoted in a direction towards the substance to be clamped to exert additional pressure thereon.

A still further object of thisinvention is to provide a single means for releasing both of the clutch devices previously mentioned.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a slicing machine with my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a cross section substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 shows a modification of one part of my invention.

My device is shown applied to the carriage 1 of a slicing machine. As is usual in slicing machines of this nature, the carriage 1 is mounted upon guide rods 2 supported by means of brackets 8 on the base 4 of the slicing machine and is adapted to be reciprocated by any suitable means, usually a crank and pitman connection, past the slicing knife 5, so that slices may be cut from a substance mounted on the carriage 1.

The carriage 1 carries a cross slide 6 having an upright 7 rigidly connected therewith. This uprigh is adapted to support the clamping device which clamps the substance to be sliced against the cross slide 6.

The clamping device comprises a clamping bar 8 having a plurality of teeth 9 adapted to the substance to be sliced and prevent it from sliding out from under the clamping bar. This clamping bar 8 is formed integral with the lever 10 pivoted at 11 between a pair of opposed plates 12. The lever 10 is bifurcated at its pivoted end and has the arms 13 surrounding the pivot 11. A roller 14 is arranged to rotate on the pivot 11 and is interposed between the spaced arms 13. A second roller 15 is adapted to rotate on a pivot 16 connected between the two plates 12. rollers 14? and 15 have grooved peripheries adapted to engage the upright 7 to form an anti-triction means whereby the clamping device may be easily moved along he upright. The plates 12 are held in spaced relation to each other by means of the spacing members 17 and 18 interposed therebetween and the pins 19 20, 11 and 16 are adapted to hold the plates against the members 17 and 16 to form a rigid bearing member for supporting the pivoted lever 10. The member 17 has the face thereof adjacent the upright 7 grooved with substantially the same curvature as that of the upright so that thereis a close fit between the member 17 and the upright 7. It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 2 that pin 19 is adapted to limit the clockwise movement of the lever 10 when the arms 13 on the lever come into engagement with said pm.

The

i so

A lever 21 pivoted at 22 has a projection 23 adapted to engage the upright 7 on the side thereof opposite the member 17 and is spring pressed into engagement with the upright by 5 means of a spring 24 mounted in the recess 25 of the lever 21 and having one end in engagement with the rigid stop 26. Thus, with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 2, the projection 23 tends to dig into the upright 7 and at the same time draw the member 17 against the opposite side of the upright. Due to the manner in which the lever 21 is pivoted, it will be noted that if an attempt is made to move the bearing member upwards,

the projection 23 will tend to dig into the upright more firmly and prevent the upward movement of the bearing member. However, the bearing member may be moved downwards by a slight downward pressure exerted thereon, as the frictional engagement of the projection 23 with the upright 7 is just sufiicient to hold the bearing member in position on said upright against the downward pull of gravity, and any additional force exerted thereon in a downward direction causes the lever 21 to rotate in a clockwise direction and move the projection 23 in a direction away from the upright against the action of the spring 24:.

Thus, it will be seen that when the substance to be sliced is placed upon the cross slide 6, the bearing member may be moved downwards to bring the clamping bar 8 into engagement with the substance and that the bearing member cannot thereafter be raised without first relieving the clamping pressure between the projection and the upright 7.

After the clamping bar 8 has been brought into engagement with the substance to be sliced in the manner just described, additional pressure can be exerted on the clamping bar by pivoting the lever 10 about the pivot 11, a handle 27 being provided on the lever 10 for this purpose.

ber 30 having the opening 31 therein surrounding the pin 28. One end of the clutch member is loosely received within a recess 32, the sides of which prevent any substanber in a vertical direction but permits the clutch member to be canted into a position such as that illustrated in Fig. 2. A spring 33 normally urges the other end of the clutch member upwards so that the edges of the opening 31 tend to grip the pin 28 and prevent its movement in an upward direction. Sufficient pressure is also exerted by the edges of the opening 31 against the pin 28 to normally hold the weight of the lever 10 connection just described. of the lever 36 causes the end 10 thereof to, engage the projection 41 on the lever 21 and 105 After this pressure has been exerted on .in a counter-clockwise direction. tial movement of that end of the clutch memagainst the downward pull of gravity but when additional force is exerted on the lever 10, such as when the lever is moved clownwards by pressure exerted on the handle 27, the clutch member 30 rotates slightly about that end restrained in the recess 32 so that the edges of the clutch member do not dig into the sides of the pin. The pin is thus permitted to move through the clutch member to permit the lever 10 to bemoved down wards. The clutch member 30 cannot become disengaged from the pin 28 in view of the fact that excessive clockwise rotation of the lever 10 is prevented by the engagement of arms 13 with the pin 19.

Vhen the clamping bar 8 has been moved against the substance to be clamped with a 'suflicient pressure and the pressure exerted on the handle 27 is released, movement of the lever in an upward direction is prevented because of the clutch member 30 which acts in the manner previously described. However, when it is necessary to release the substance to be sliced, means must be provided M by which thls may be done. This means comprises a hand lever 3 1 pivoted at 35 to the lever 10 just below the handle 27. An arm 36 is pivoted at 37 to the hand lever 34, as best illustrated in Fig. 2, and has its opposite end provided with a slot 38 surrounding a pin 39 fastened to the opposite sides of the lever 10. The weight of the hand lever 34: normally holds the lever 36 in the position shown in Fig. 2 but when the hand lever 3 1 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the lever 36 is caused to move to the left, being guided in its movement by the pin and slot This movement cause the lever to rotate in a clockwise direcreleasing the projection 23 from its engagement with the upright 7. The lever 21 is also provided with an extension 12 having a screw-threaded adjustable pin 43 threaded therethrough. The lower end of this pin is adapted to engage the left hand end of the clutch member 30 when the lever 21 is rotated,

in a clockwise direction against the action of the spring 33, thus releasing the pin 28 from the gripping action of the clutch member and permitting the lever 10 to be pivoted Thus, it will be seen that the movement of the arm 36 to the left simultaneously releases the clutch 1,91e,see

tor-clockwise direction to release the clutches, as described. Thereafter, by moving the hand vertically, the lever is rotated about its pivot until the arms 13 engage the member 17 and further movement of the hand in a vertical direction causes the bearing menn her to move vertically because 01 the engagement of the arms 13 with the bearing member '17.

Vi hen the clamping device has been raised, the hand lever 34 may be released and the springs 24 and 33 will cause the clutches to again engage the upright 7 and the pin 28 to hold the bearing member and the lever 10 from movement in a downward direction against the force of gravity.

Means is provided to prevent the clamping device from rotating about the upright 7. This means comprises an arm 44 riveted to one of the plates 12, as best illustrated in Fig. 1. This arm has a notch 45 at one end thereof adapted to partially encircle a second upright 46 fastened to the cross slide 6. A pin 47 is pressed into engagement with the upright 46 by means of the spring 48. The spring and pin are mounted in a r -cess in the arm 44, as best illustrated in Fig. 1. Thus, it will be seen that any rotation of the clamping device about the upright 7 is prevented by means of the arm 44 while the spring pressed pin 47 tends to aid the clutches in holding the clamping device in any of its positions oi adjustment along the upright 7. It will be understood, of course, that any other means may be provided for preventing the clamping device from rotating about the upright 7 such as by providing the upright with a. longitudinal flat portion along one side thereof adapted to engage one of the plates 12 as shown in Fig. 3 in which the upright 7 has the flat portions 49 engaging the plates 12 similar to the plates 12 of Figs. 1 and 2. Parts 11, 16, 15' and 14 correspond to the parts 11, 16. 15 and 14 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It is obvious how the flat portions 49 prevent the bearing member from turning about the upright.

he operation of the device is as follows:

With the parts arranged in the position shown in Fig. 2, it is desired to raise the clamping device to place a substance therebeneath so that it may be clamped. To do this, one merely grasps the handle 27 and the hand lever 34 and moves the lever 10 in an upward direction. until the clamping device has been moved to the desired height on the upright 7. The substance is then placed under the clamping bar 8 and pressure is exerted on the handle 27 to move the clamping device downwards. When the bearing member has moved down along the upright as far as it will do so, the projection 23 will prevent its being raised from this position and additional force may be exerted on the handle 27 to move the lever 10 about its pivot so that additional force may be used to clampthe substance against the cross-slide 6. With a device of this kind, it has been found that the substance may be gripped with a greater force than in devices which have a clamp 0 ing member slidably supported on an upright and pro 'ided with but one clutch for holding the clamping member in position on the upright, the clamping member being formed integral or rigi member which slides on the upright.

It will be obvious, in order for the clamping action to properly take place, that the rollers 14 and 15 should not be in firm grip- U ping engagement with the upright 7, as otherwise it would be diliicult to move the clamp supporting member 12 along the upright. Therefore, a small amount of clearance is necessary between the rollers and the upright to permit the clamping action to take place without the interference of the rollers 14 and 15. Furthermore, it would be extremely difficult to so arrange the rollers 14 and 15. The small clearance provided in the normal. mounting of the rollers 14 and 15 permits a slight amount of tilting movement of the member 12 after the clutch paw 23 is released so that when the member 12 is sliding along the upright, the rigid portion 17 thereof does not rub against the upright, or if it does, the amount is so slight as to be almost negligible.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and 1 therefore do not wish to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus fully disclosed an embodiment of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United tates is 1. In a meat clamp for slicing machines, the combination with a support, of an upright on said support, a member slidable on said upright, a spring pressed pawl for holding said slidable member in adjusted position on said upright, a clamping bar pivoted to. said slidable member, a pin connected to said clamping bar, a clutch ring surrounding said pin, and means to urge the edges of said clutch ring into frictional engagement with the pin to hold said clamping bar in adjusted... position relative to said slidable member.

2. A slicing machine clamping device comprising an upright, a support slidable thereon, a clamping bar pivot-ed to said support, a clutch for holding the support in position on said upright, a clutch independently operable with respect to said first clutch for holding the clamping bar in adjusted angular position relative to said support, and means to release each of said clutch devices to per nit. the clamping bar and support to be moved,

d with the bearing said clamping bar having a handle member and a hand operated lever adjacent thereto for operating said releasing means.

3. A slicing machine clamping member adapted to be mounted on an upright on the work carriage of a slicing machine for holding articles on said carriage while they are being sliced, comprising a plurality of members pivoted to each other, means on one of said members for engaging said upright, holding means for preventing movement of the members relative to each other about their pivotal connection in one direction but permitting them to be moved relative to each other in the opposite direction, and holding means for preventing movement of said members along said upright in one direction but permitting their movement along said upright in the opposite direction under a predetermined relatively small amount of force exerted in said last mentioned direction.

4. A meat clamping device for slicing machines comprising a support, an upright on said support, a slidable member on said upright, anti-friction rollers arranged on opposite sides of said upright and rotatably mounted on said slidable member to assist the movement of said slidable member along said upright, a yieldingly pressed clutch member on said slidable member adapted to engage said upright, a member rigid with said slidable member on the opposite side of said upright from said clutch member adapted to be drawn into engagement with the upright to assist the clutch in holding the slidable member on said upright, a clamping bar pivoted to the slidable member, a friction clutch to prevent movement of the pivoted member in one direction, and means to release said clutch members.

5. A slicing machine clamping device comprising a support, an upright on said support, a member slidable along said upright and adapted to be held in adjusted position thereon, a clamping bar pivoted to the slidable member, a pin operatively'eonnected to the clamping bar, and a clutch on said slidable member engaging said pin to prevent movement 01" said clamping bar in one direction while permitting it to be moved in the opposite direction when force is applied thereto to move it in said last-mentioned direction.

6. A clamping device for slicing machines comprising a support for the substance to be sliced, an upstanding member thereon, a member movable along said upstanding member comprising a pair of plates spaced apart by rigid spacing blocks and held rigid therewith by suitable fastening means, rollers rotatably mounted between said plates on opposite sides of the upstanding member and adapted to engage said upstanding member,

'a pawl pivoted tosaid slidable member between said plates and having a projection thereon yieldingly urged against the upstanding member at a point substantially opposite one of the spacing blocks so as to grip the upstanding member therebetween, a lever pivoted to said slidable member having clamping means thereon, a pin connected to said lever, a clutch member having an opening through which the pin passes, yieldmg means for canting the clutch member so that the edges of the opening grip the pin to hold the pin and consequently the lever against movement in one direction, adjustable means on said pawl adapted to engage and release said clutch member when the pawl is rotated away from the upstanding member, and a manually operated member for engaging said pawl to rotate said pawl and thus release said pawl from said upright and the clutch from said pin to permit said lever and slidable member to be moved along the upstanding member.

7. In a meat clamp for slicing machines, the combination with a support, of an up- 1 ht on said support, a member slidable along said upright, a spring pressed pawl for holding said slidable member in adjusted position on said upright, a clamping bar pivoted to said slidable member, a pin connected to said clamping bar, a clutch on said slidable member engaging said pin, and means for urging said clutch into frictional engagement with said pin to hold said clamping'bar in adjusted position relative to said slidable member.

8. In a meat clamp for slicing machines, the combination with a support, of an upright on said support, a member slidable on said upright, a clutch for holding said slidable member in adjusted position along said upright, a clamping bar angularly adjustable on said slidable member, a member extending from said clamping bar, a clutch on said slidable member engaging said member which extends from said clamping bar for holding said clamping bar in adjusted angular position on said slidable member, means for releasing said first named clutch to permit said slidable member and clamping bar to move bodily away from the substance being clamped without releasing said second named clutch, and an operative connect-ion between said means for releasing said first named clutch and said second named clutch for releasing said second named clutch upon GXtGDClGh movement of the operating means for said first named clutch, whereby the said slidable member and clamping bar may be first moved bodily away from clamping position upon release of said first clutch without relative movement therebetween and then subsequently moved relative to each other upon release of said second named clutch.

9. In a meat clamp for a slicing machine,

the combination with an upright, of a member slidable along said upright, a bearing surface on one side of said upright, a springpressed pawl on the other side of said upright and carried by said slidable member, a clamping bar pivoted to said slidable member, a pin on one of said members engaging a clutch on the other of saic members, an extension on said pawl, and means for moving said extension to r lease said pawl and to move a portion of said pawl into engage ment with said clutch ring to release said clutch ring and permit movement of said clamping bar after a predetermined move ment of said pawl.

10. A clamp for slicing machines comprising a supporting member, and a guide carried by said supporting member, a member slidable along said guide, a clamping arm mounted for angular adjustment on said slidable member, a clutch for holding said slidable member in adjusted position along said guide, a clutch arranged between said slidable member and said clamping bar for holding said clamping bar in adjusted angular position relative to said slidable mem her, an operating arm carried by said clamping bar for releasing said first mentioned clutch, and means on said first mentioned clutch for operating said second mentioned clutch.

11. A clamp for slicing machines comprising a support, a vertically extending guide on said support, a member slidable along said guide, a clamping bar pivoted to said slidable member, and a pin pivoted to said clamping bar and passing through a clutch ring on said slidable member so that the angular position of said clamping bar relative to said slidable member may be adjusted, said clutch ring being automatically operable on movement of said clamping bar to any position of adjustment, to grip said pin and hold said clamping bar in said position of adj ustment.

12. In a clamp for slicing machines, the combination with a supporting guide, of member movable along said guide, a clamping arm pivoted to said movable member, a pin on said clamping bar, and a clutch ring on said movable member surrounding said pin for preventing movement of said pin in one direction while permitting movement of said pin in the opposite direction when a predetermined pressure is applied to said clamping bar in the last mentioned direction.

13. In a clamp for slicing machines, the combination with asup 'iorting guide, of a member movable along said guide, a clamping arm pivoted to said movable member, a pin on said clamping bar, clutch ring on said movable member and surrounding said pin for preventing movement of said pin in one direction while permitting movement of said pin in the opposite direction when a predetermined pressure is applied to said clamping bar in the last mentioned direction, and an abu nent for limiting the movement of said clamping bar in said last mentioned direction.

14. A slicing iachine comprising a substance support and an upright on said support, a member slidable along said upright toward and from said support and having a clutch thereon for gripping said upright with a suflicient force to prevent movement of said member toward said support under its own weight and the weight of the parts carried thereby, but permitting movement of said member toward said support when pressure in excess of that normally tending to move said member toward said support is applied thereto, and clamping arm mounted on said member and adjustable relative to said support independently of the adjustment of said member, and having a clutch connection with said member for preventing movement of saio arm away from said support and for holding said arm against movement toward said support except when a force acts thereon greater than the force of gravity normally acting on said clamp, whereby said member can be moved to adjusted position on said upright by manual pressure applied to said arm and the arm thereafter moved an additional amount toward said support without changing the position of said member on said upright.

15. A slicing machine comprising a substance support, an upright mounted on said support, a bearing member slidable along said upright toward and from said support and having a clutch member co-operating with said upright to prevent movement of said member away from said support and hold said member against movement under the force of gravity toward said support, while at the same time permitting movement of said member toward said support by manual pressure it and when desired, a clamping bar mounted on said member for movement relative thereto in a direction toward and from said support independently of the movement of said member along said up right, and a clutch co-operating between said member and said bar for posit vely preventing movement of said bar away from said support when said clutch is in operative position, but permitting movement of said bar toward said support if and when desired, eX- cept under the force of gravity acting on said bar, whereby said member can be moved to desired position along said upright and:

support, a member slidable along said upright having a rigid surface thereon for engaging said upright and an opposed clutch member yieldingly engaging the side of said upright opposite to the side engaged by said rigid portion at a point in a plane normal to the movement of said slidable member and passing intermediate the ends of said rigid surface for holding said slidable member in position along said upright against upward movement therealong, anti-friction rollers on said slidable member spaced along said upright on opposite sides thereof and on opposite sides of said rigid portion for assisting the movement of said slidable memher when the same is being moved from one position along said upright to another, said rollers being mounted on said member so as not to be in firm engagement with said upright, but having a small clearance, and means for releasing said clutch member to permit said rigid portion to move away from said upright and permit tilting of the rigid member to bring said rollers into engagement with said upright.

17. In a meat clamp for slicing machines and the like, the combination with a substance support, of an upwardly extending guide on said support, a clamp supporting member slidable along said upright, a clamp ing as guiding means for guiding said clamp supporting member along said upright.

In testnnony whereof I have slgned my name to this specification.

CORNELIS F. M. VAN BERKEL.

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